Bakersfield,
California. Just over 100 miles north of
Los Angeles. A place of oil drills,
farmland, and bootleggers! Via the newly
completed Castaic-Tejon Route (Ridge Route) escape from the southern reaches of
the Golden State to tour the treasures of this growing metropolis at the base
of the San Joaquin Valley. Taking its
name from the alfalfa field of Col. Thomas Baker that was used to rest and feed
the horses of travelers, the city remains a place for guests to find
refreshments of all kinds.
On
January 15-16 the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles invites you to join with its
members for a weekend of bootleg cocktails, cinema, architecture and
socializing in a city almost synonymous with hospitality. From the Kress Building (1931) to the Nile
Theater (1906, remodeled in 1927), walk with Professor Douglas Dodd of Cal
State, Bakersfield on a tour of the downtown’s Art Deco and Art Deco-era
buildings. Spend an evening sipping
Prohibition cocktails in the Prospect Lounge of the Padre Hotel (1928) all the
while learning about bootlegging in Kern County from Mr. Richard Roux, author
of Bootleggers, Booze, and Busts: Prohibition in Kern County, 1919-1933 and
followed by dancing to music orchestrated by the society’s own Mr. Walter
Nelson. Round off the weekend with Mr.
James Cagney and Miss Priscilla Lane as the Bakersfield Fox (1930) hosts a
Sunday afternoon screening of The Roaring Twenties (1939). And in between all that you’ll have time for
shopping in some the city’s vintage goods purveyors.
Weekend Pass: $140
Refunds will not be issued after January 1, 2022